A Lack of Colour
by kiwikiwi
Summary: Sometimes, you view the world through tinted glasses in order to mask what's really going on.
1. Addison

_disclaimer: yadda yadda, not mine_

_note: this story takes place immediatly following the season 2 finale. so if fo some reason you haven't seen it; and don't want to ruin the surprise/disgust/insertotheremorionhere whilst watching it for yourself, don't read. don't say i didn't warn you._

* * *

**A Lack of Colour**

"I guess the night's over" Addison stated flatly, blinking back tears and avoiding looking her husband in the eyes before she turned and followed Richard across the floor.

Derek, for a split second, almost felt guilty as he wondered if she knew, how she could possibly, in that single instance, had known what had just transpired between Meredith and himself in the exam room.

Almost.

It was in that instant he noticed Finn, standing far too close to Meredith, offering to take her home. Derek knew she should go to her best friend, to Izzie, the beautiful, broken girl that had held her chin high as she left everything behind in through tears. Furthermore, Derek knew that, by all means, he should go home to his wife.

Yet for some reason, Derek found himself looking at Meredith – he never could stop looking at her - and silently asking her to come to him.

From the other side of the room, Richard opened the door for Addison, casting a disappointed glance back at Derek as he left the room.

Outside, Addison took a deep and shaky breath. Richard placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly. Addison looked to him, gratefulness replacing the heartbroken look that had flickered across her face moments before. She drew another breath, this time steadier, raised her chin, and smiled – a sad smile, masked by something else Richard could not quite put his finger on. Before Richard could say a word, Addison – chin still high – had walked out the doors of Seattle Grace and into the pouring rain.

* * *

_poor addison. my little heart just broke for her._


	2. Meredith

Meredith stood completely still, not daring to move a muscle. She stared straight ahead, thoughts and pulse racing.

On one hand, logic told her to leave with Finn – the man who had brought her here, who had begun to fix her, who had _plans_. He too, was broken, and Meredith had hoped beyond all hopes that they could fix _each other, _and perhaps, she could finally live out her life as she had intended before Derek had shattered it.

On the other hand, however, was Derek. The man she, unfortunately, loved. The kind of love that suffocated her, squeezing itself tighter and tighter around her heart, working it's way into her veins, coursing through her body. The type of love that was unrelenting.

Finn was nice. He treated her nicely, and he liked puppies and horses and _her_. Derek though… well, he was _Derek_. And he was also married. Meredith cocked her head slightly. Derek was married, and he had just been dancing with his wife. And he just expected her to leave with him? To break Addison more than she already had been?

Meredith knew what it felt like to be broken by Derek. She herself had experienced that one first hand. Meredith raised her eyes, looking Derek defiantly in the eyes. Taking a deep breath and willing her body language not to give her away, she took a sharp breath, turned on her heel, and walked out the door. Finn placed a hand on her lower back, and threw a smug look back at Derek as the glass door swung shut behind him.

* * *

_this almost makes me like mer. almost ;)_

_recently on the show anyways, i've been liking her more and more. well until the finale. hopefully she doesn't disappoint next season._


	3. Derek

Derek stood, alone and dazed, in the centre of the room, trying to sort through the whirlwind events of the few days. His jealously over Meredith and Finn's relationship had begun a slow burn on his heart. It began when he saw her descending the stairs in the veterinary office, hair wet, in a very obvious man's shirt. And, instead of getting moody or upset, Derek had dropped off Doc and returned home to his wife, resulting in the best sex of their post-mark marriage.

That didn't make a lot of sense to Derek.

Neither did the hurt – and surprise – he'd felt when Addison had confronted him in the hallway, yelling at him that she was 'not Meredith Grey'. She had been right, of course, as she often was – Addison was NOT Meredith, and would never BE Meredith. But Addison had been Addison long before Meredith had even entered the picture, and Derek now wondered when that had changed, and how _his_ Addison had managed to become just plain Addison.

To be completely honest, he had not really _tried _to fix his marriage when he had chosen to stay with Addison. Maybe, Derek often thought, everyone else had been right when they whispered in the halls that he had stayed with her out of obligation rather than love. The nurses at Seattle Grace had no idea that their whispers often drifted to the ears of those they talked about, and for a brief moment, it pained Derek to think that Addie had to endure these whispers because of him. It was moments like these when he questioned his supposed obligatory reasons for staying with Addison, as obligation was not something that you felt inside you. It was one of these such moments when Derek gave Addison a look and sheepishly asked her to the Seattle Grace Prom. And Derek had felt so guilty by the fact that he had done this after their fight, after she had embarrassed herself in front of the entire hospital – when she asked him to dance he had taken pity on her and offered his wife this one thing, despite the fact that Derek does not dance in public. Absently, he had moved his wife's hand over his heart, spinning her slowly, only to catch sight of Meredith looking at him – _really_ looking at him – over Finn's shoulder.

And that was when Derek had stopped all rational thinking.

A clap of thunder shook Derek from his thoughts and, shaking his head, he slowly made his way towards the exit of Seattle Grace, wondering not where his wife was, or what she was doing at that moment, but rather, wondering if Meredith was still with Finn.

* * *

_jerkface. he doesn't deserve either woman that loves him._


	4. Addison 2

Addison was upset. She stood in the centre of Derek's trailer, wishing she could bring herself to sink low enough to trash the place, or to open up Derek's liquor cabinet and drown the tears that begged to come in the bottom of a bottle.

However, Addison was determined to remain composed – she did not want to lose her composure, once again, and certainly not in front of Derek. Crying in front of him had never really worked before; and it probably wouldn't now. Besides, Addison thought bitterly, he shouldn't be worth her tears.

Addison carefully placed the last of her belongings in her designer suitcase, and zipped the cover shut. Twisting her wedding band around her finger, she contemplated where to go. Tonight, Addison did not want to be alone. Unfortunately, she did not have many friends in Seattle – she had left her friends in New York to be with Derek. Now, she didn't even have him. Instead, she had a mess of a marriage, and people who gossiped about her behind her back, calling her Satan.

She ran through those she knew in her mind. Miranda Bailey had a newborn, so she was out of the question. Richard, although close to Addison, had his own concerns regarding his niece – as did Adele. Finally, there was Preston Burke – who just so happened to be living with one of Meredith's best friends. Addison had never felt so alone before.

Sighing, Addison scanned the trailer one last time, ensuring she had not left any belongings behind. There were no lipstick tubes on the bedroom dresser, no red strands of hair in the shower drain. She had been careful not to leave behind any little goodbyes.

Addison picked up her suitcase, and walked towards her car. She climbed in, started the ignition, and drove off – not once looking back at the place she had so recently begun to call home.

* * *

_you go girl ;)_


	5. Richard

Richard sat alone in his darkened living room, thinking hard. Every so often, lightning would flash, illuminating both the room and Richard's somber face. He was not, as one would suspect, thinking about his niece. Instead, he was thinking about events that had transpired between his favourite redhead and her husband over the past few months. Richard was also feeling an impending sense of guilt over the situation. He cared about Addison as if she were a daughter. Addison may have not even made the decision to stay in Seattle had it not been for his pushing, and, even after discovering about her affair – he had encouraged her to try and work things out with her husband.

After all, Richard had figured, he had decided to stay with Adele – much like Derek's decision to stay with Addison – and things had worked for them.

However, Richard was not aware – until recently – that Adele had even been wise to the nature of his affair, and that she had chosen to stay with _him _more than he had chosen to stay with her.

He had told Derek about this prior to a surgery, oddly enough, almost foreshadowing the events that were to follow that night. Something had happened between Meredith and Derek that night, of this he was certain – they length of time Derek had been 'in the washroom', conveniently at the same time Meredith had stepped out was not coincidence; not to mention the devastated look on Addison's face when, finally, they had both reappeared – faces flushed.

Richard had been lucky that Adele had chosen to stay with him after his affair with Ellis Grey. Ironic, Richard thought briefly, that his own mistress had been non other than Meredith's mother.

_The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, _Richard thought wryly.

Yes indeed, he was a lucky man. Derek, Richard figured, was not going to be as lucky.

* * *

_oh, what an interesting parallel between richard/ellis/adele and derek/meredith/addison. funny they're both grey women as well. i've always giggled at that. i guess the grey's like to wreck marriages._

_this is as far as i've managed to get so far. maybe more in the near future. maybe._


End file.
